A drive which drives a rotor of an open-end spinning machine via a pair of supporting disks is known from German Patent Application DE 37 19 445 A1. Also described therein is the basic design of a supporting disk. The supporting disks have bearing rings on the periphery of which are mounted supporting rings made of polymeric material. To improve heat dissipation, the supporting ring is provided with a cooling groove in the central region thereof.
Another way of removing heat is described in DE 100 27 036 C2, wherein the supporting disk is made up of at least two axially touching sub-disks which are partially axially spaced apart by webs, thereby defining cavities extending to the periphery of the supporting disk. At least one of these sub-disks has axial openings through which air is drawn into the cavities during rotation of the supporting disk. After the air has passed through the cavities, it is expelled radially at the periphery. This measure reduces the thermal load on the supporting disk and on the rotor. However, such a supporting disk is relatively expensive to manufacture, and there is a risk of dirt and lint accumulating in the cavities, which may result in uneven rotation of the supporting disk and cause damage to the product or to the spinning machine.